Happy Birthday, Merida
by BriannaTheStrange
Summary: On the day of her eleventh birthday, Merida's parents present her with a gift that will soon become her life-long companion and best friend.


**(I'm guessing Angus is around 5 years old in the film, meaning Merida is 11 in the story and the triplets aren't born…but I could be totally wrong. Hehe)**

It was a gorgeous day in Scotland. The sun had risen a few hours ago but Castle DunBroch was still relatively quiet. To most it was an ordinary day, but it was special for the royal family.

Merida was curled up under the covers in her room, snoring lightly in her sleep. Slowly, her door opened with a long creak.

With an excited air, her mother and father stepped in. "Mooooornin'!" boomed the king cheerily, his wife stepping past him and throwing open the curtains. Sunlight streamed in, which caused an annoyed moan to arise from the now-awake princess.

Merida tossed away from the light and threw her pillow over her head in frustration. "Urrrrrrrrrgggg…." she droned in annoyance.

"C'mon, lass! Wake up!" laughed Fergus as he came to the side of his daughter's bed and shook her lightly. "Don't tell me ye forgot wot day et is!"

"I _didn't_ forget wot day et is," grumbled the redhead as she tightened her grip on the pillow. "I jus' was hopin' we could do this a bit _later_ in the day."

With a roll of her eyes, Elinor approached her husband. The queen was quite pregnant at this time with what would soon be the three princes, so she placed one hand on her back. She shook her head as she nudged her husband, grinning. "Well, seems as is if she doesn't want 't get up, Fergus. Per'aps we should just let her stay in bed all day, wouldn't you say?"

Fergus quickly turned his head to the queen in surprise. "Wha—_oh_! Ayyyye," he replied with a wink as he feigned disappointment. "Though I suppose that also means she's gonna miss out on her present. Oh well." The two then made their way over to the door and paused when they heard their daughter's voice.

"Wait, wait, wait," Merida's pillow rose slightly to reveal part of her face. Her eyes twinkled with curiosity as she stared up at her parents. "You…got me somethin'?"

The husband and wife exchanged humorous glances with one another before her mother gave a brief nod. "Indeed we did. It_ is_ your birthday, after all, isn't it? Eleven is an important age. You're growin' up."

"Aye. Happy birthday me," Merida muttered, disappointed her parents had won over her curiosity. She moved her covers aside and sat up, clutching her pillow with a big smile. "Sooo…wot as it? Oh! Is it—wait…we're not havin' another picnic, are we?" Her eyes moved down to her father's pegleg as she remembered on her sixth birthday when Mor'du attacked.

Fergus gave a hearty chuckle and set his massive fists to rest at his hips. "No, et's not another picnic. We'll be stayin' close tae the castle, don't you worry."

Merida gave a sigh of relief as her mouth turned back up into an excited grin. "Well, wot is et? Can I have a hint? A tiny one? Pleeeeeaseee?"

The king nodded in agreement and set a hand to his scruffy chin in thought, "Well, et's somethin' that every adventurous lassie needs. Et's quite 'ard tae make do without one, especially if ye wanna get out into the wilderness!"

Merida tilted her head in confusion as she processed this, but nothing came to mind. She turned towards her mother and offered an expectant look. "Mum, could _you_ give me a hint? Dad's isn't workin' out too well."

The queen approached Merida and gentled stroked her curly hair, "I'm afraid not, sweetheart. But don't fret. If you get up now, we can take you to your present."

Merida raised an eyebrow. "Take me to it? Well…alright," Stepping off the bed, she threw her dress on over her nightgown and slipped her shoes on. She followed her parents through the castle, helping her father to assist the queen down the stairs, who seemed to be having a bit of trouble due to her enormous belly. Finally they reached the courtyard of the castle. Servants and guards walked about doing their duties. Many of them were respectful enough to give a polite, "good morning, fair princess," or even a, "happy birthday, princess." if they remembered.

Her mother and father led her around the castle and towards an area she didn't normally go to: the stables. She never exactly had any reason, though she did enjoy spending time with the horses from time to time. This was a rare occurrence due to the fact that she often spent the majority of her days doing princess duties with her mother, though there was the occasional day when she would go off on her own in the woods to practice archery alone. It did get awfully lonely, though. "Wot're we doin' 'ere?" she asked, tugging at her father's bear-fur cape. "Didja get me a bundle 'a hay?"

"No, 'fraid there's no hay fer ye t'day," laughed the king, stopping and ruffling his daughter's hair.

Merida then turned to her mother and stared up at her inquisitively. "A pitchfork, then?"

Elinor smiled softly and placed a gentle hand on her daughter's shoulder. "No farmin' equipment," She glanced up at the stable master who was approaching from one of the stalls hidden away. "Ah! Seamus, could you please get…you know?"

The stable master nodded, "Aye, my queen," He then disappeared back into the stable.

A highly confused look crossed Merida's face as her gaze flickered from her mother and father and back again. "Wotttt's goin' on?" she asked quietly as she got on her tiptoes to try and somehow see into the stable, but to no avail.

Fergus laughed softly and patted her on the head lightly, "Ye'll see, m' wee darlin'. Jus'…cover yer eyes, alright?"

"Cover my eyes?" the princess repeated, puzzled, as she looked back up at her mother, who smiled warmly and nodded. "Alright…" Her hands now covering her big blue eyes, Merida began rocking back and forth on her heels but stood still when her mother cleared her throat lightly. "…Can I look now?"

Husband and wife traded excited glances with one another as the stable master appeared with what they'd been waiting for. The two stepped back quietly from their daughter and stood close to one another a little ways behind her. Elinor smiled and clasped her hands together, "Alright. Uncover your eyes…_now_!"

Slowly, Merida removed her hands. She blinked in the early-morning sun that temporarily obscured her vision. In her blinking, she swore she saw the stable master and a small-ish figure beside him. Finally, as she adjusted to the light, her eyes stretched wide with awe as she finally made out the figure beside the man.

It was a young Clydesdale foal. It couldn't have been more than a few months old, for it looked extremely young. It had white markings on its muzzle and face, and had shaggy white fetlocks. There was a bit of rope tied around its snout that the stable master was keeping a grip on, but he soon removed the rope and stepped back into the stable. The foal didn't move. It just stood there with its big brown gaze fixed curiously on the princess.

After several silent moments of awe, Merida turned back towards her parents with huge eyes and an open mouth. It took her a bit of time to form proper words, but when she did, they were baffled. "Is…is this…for me?" she asked in disbelief.

Fergus and Elinor gently held each other's hands and nodded with their eyes bright and smiles on their faces. "He's sure is," laughed the king, amused at his beloved daughter's reaction.

Elinor smiled tenderly and leaned lightly against the king, "Happy birthday, Merida,"

It took a moment for the words of her parents to sink in. She turned back towards the foal who was still standing a few feet away. Drawing in a deep breath, Merida began to slowly and cautiously approach him. She knew horses could be easily spooked, and she didn't want to frighten him. "H-hello," she murmured with a little wave of her hand as she drew nearer, "I'm Merida,"

The foal's ears flicked curiously as he listened, but he didn't move. He simply looked ahead as she approached.

Merida was no more than three feet from the foal when she stopped and stood still. "I, uhm. I'm not exactly sure wot tae say other than that." she murmured sheepishly as she clasped her hands behind her back. The foal offered a snort as its nostrils flared slightly, which resulted in a chuckle from the princess. Her smile slowly faded once the two made eye contact. She drew in a quiet, deep breath. _Alright, Merida. It's now or never._ With slight hesitation, the princess undid her hands from behind her back and slowly extended her arm out towards the foal's pinkish-white snout. "I…I was hopin' we…we could be…friends, ya know?" she murmured softly as she stopped her hand at least an inch away from resting on his nose.

The foal's brown gaze glanced at Merida's hand that was hovering gingerly by his nose. He then looked up into her eyes inquiringly, as if trying to place her. After many long and somewhat dragging seconds, the foal slowly leaned forward and rested its nose in her palm.

Merida's eyes widened with surprise as she felt the furry nose. She laughed once in shock as she glanced over her shoulder towards her parents who stood with equal surprise and amusement. Turning back to the foal, she laughed with merriment and calmly placed two hands on his head-one at his nose and one on his cheek. "Wot a guid boy!" she praised while giving him a light petting.

He gave a high-pitched, joy-filled neigh as he began and nuzzle into Merida affectionately.

"Haha, silly! Wot're you doin'?" she laughed as she leaned down and planted a kiss on his snout before rubbing his face warmly on both sides. As if suddenly remembering they were there again, Merida quickly looked back over her shoulder and to her parents. "Mum, dad!" The redhead dashed over to the king and queen, screeching to a halt in front of them and bouncing on her toes with glee. "Thank you so much! I-I can't believe ye did this fer me!"

Fergus bent down, giving Merida a fatherly peck on the top of her head and a soft pat on the back. "Aw, twas nothin', m'dear! We knew ye loved ridin' but never had a horse that was really yer own, so we decided tae change that. Isn't that right, love?"

"Indeed," The queen then placed a very quick kiss on Merida's cheek before straightening up. "But he's _yours_. You need to make sure he's fed, exercised, clean, healthy-"

"Mummmm," muttered Merida with good humor. She took orders daily from her mothers and would normally have been annoyed, but she was too cheerful right now. "I _promise_ I'll take good care of him. Okay, mum?"

Elinor paused and looked down at her daughter with her brown eyes narrowed. She set a hand to her hip and raised a finger as if she was about to admonish Merida, but she stopped herself. Letting a smile come across her face, she let out a soft chuckle. "Oh, alright then. I believe you."

A look of happiness crossed the girl's face as she looked up at her mother with bright eyes. Not quite sure what to say, she turned back to the foal that stood many feet away at its original post. Putting two fingers to her mouth, Merida gave a loud whistle. With a neigh of surprise, the horse bucked and waved its skinny front hooves in the air before dashing clumsily over to Merida and nuzzled playfully at her arms.

"Well, I'll be! See, Elinor, they're the best 'a friends already!" laughed Fergus as he placed an arm gently around his wife's shoulder before smiling warmly at his daughter who was stroking the foal. "So, m'darlin', what're ye thinkin' o' namin' that there horse?"

Merida looked steadily at the black and white foal as she stroked his nose gently. She narrowed her eyes and bit her lower lip in thought. Finally, her eyes brightened and her mouth curled up into a satisfied grin. "Angus."


End file.
